Ag Sec. Vilsack urges House passage of Senate bill on immigration

Published: Monday, July 15, 2013 at 5:27 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, July 15, 2013 at 5:27 p.m.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack called on the House of Representatives to move forward in adopting immigration reform, saying if it doesn’t do so this year there is little hope it will pass next year or beyond.

Vilsack, in a phone interview Monday, lauded the bill passed by the Senate in late June, saying it will ensure the survival of the nation’s agriculture industry, which is dependent in large part on the labor of migrant workers, many of whom are currently unauthorized. The House leadership has so far not allowed the Senate bill to come to a vote.

“The bottom line is, there just aren’t enough people doing work on farms, ranches, groves ... and so crops are not being harvested,” he said. “We need to bring (the workers) out of the shadows into the economy.”

The Senate bill provides for unauthorized immigrants to apply for temporary legal status and begin a path to citizenship, provided they pay fines and back income taxes, However, it does not guarantee citizenship, and it does not give them priority over those currently applying for citizenship through proper channels.

It also requires tighter border security and mandates that all U.S. businesses adopt a system for checking new employees’ legal status, among other things.

House leaders, including Speaker John Boehner, have said they want to dissect the measure and vet each provision carefully rather than vote on the entire bill at once.

But Vilsack worries that immigration reform will crumble under the weight of partisanship in the House.

“I think there are some, frankly, who do not want it to pass because there is some political advantage to one party or another.”

He believes that if immigration reform doesn’t pass this year, it will be years before it has another chance.

“If it doesn’t get done this year, it certainly won’t get done next year in an election year and it won’t get done the following year, in the third year of the president’s second term,” he said.

However, Republican Congressman Rich Nugent, who represents central and eastern Marion County, believes it is unreasonable to expect the House to vote on an expansive immigration bill without allowing time to deliberate it.

“I don’t think the country benefits from thousand-plus page bills,” he said in a statement Monday. “I understand that it makes it easier to have a big press conference and signing ceremony, but the policy isn’t improved by doing it that way.

“As a representative of the American people, I personally don’t think you should have to swallow 900 other pages just to get the individual pieces your constituents think is important. It shouldn’t be take it or leave it. So, the House feels like taking it piece by piece and having an up or down vote on each is a better way to deliver the immigration reforms that a majority of Americans want. I think that’s a better way to go.”

Among Nugent’s priorities is border security.

“Unless the border is secure and we can actually have some level of control about who is coming in and who is overstaying visas and so forth, then you can’t really reform a broken system – you simply put yourself back in the same situation a few years down the road. That’s what happened with immigration reform in 1986.”

Republican Ted Yoho, who represents much of western Marion County, agreed.

“My constituents have made it overwhelmingly clear to me that they don’t like the Senate bill, they want secure borders now, and no amnesty,” Yoho said Monday. “I agree with them. Last week I heard most of my colleagues say they’ve heard the same.

“I do think we need responsible immigration policies that focus on border security because that’s a matter of national security. We can also work together for a responsible guest working program for agriculture. In the end, I don’t see the Senate bill coming through the House.”

There is evidence that illegal immigration leveled off during the recession, as job opportunities in agriculture and tourism dwindled here.

Using data from the Census Bureau and other sources, the Department of Homeland Security published a report last year estimating that 11.5 million unauthorized immigrants lived in the U.S. as on January 2011, down from 11.8 million at the peak. Roughly half of that population was centered in just three states, California, Texas and Florida.

According to the Homeland Security report, about 59 percent of unauthorized immigrants — 6.8 million — were from Mexico. Mexico’s neighbors to the south, El Salvador (660,000) and Guatemala (520,000), poured another 1.18 million people into the U.S., while China (280,000), the Philippines (270,000), India (240,000) and Korea (230,000) also accounted for significant numbers of unauthorized immigrants.

But while the overall numbers grew over the past decade, apprehensions of unauthorized immigrants plummeted from about 1.06 million in 2002 to 641,000 in 2011.

<p>U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack called on the House of Representatives to move forward in adopting immigration reform, saying if it doesn't do so this year there is little hope it will pass next year or beyond.</p><p>Vilsack, in a phone interview Monday, lauded the bill passed by the Senate in late June, saying it will ensure the survival of the nation's agriculture industry, which is dependent in large part on the labor of migrant workers, many of whom are currently unauthorized. The House leadership has so far not allowed the Senate bill to come to a vote.</p><p>“The bottom line is, there just aren't enough people doing work on farms, ranches, groves ... and so crops are not being harvested,” he said. “We need to bring (the workers) out of the shadows into the economy.”</p><p>The Senate bill provides for unauthorized immigrants to apply for temporary legal status and begin a path to citizenship, provided they pay fines and back income taxes, However, it does not guarantee citizenship, and it does not give them priority over those currently applying for citizenship through proper channels.</p><p>It also requires tighter border security and mandates that all U.S. businesses adopt a system for checking new employees' legal status, among other things.</p><p>House leaders, including Speaker John Boehner, have said they want to dissect the measure and vet each provision carefully rather than vote on the entire bill at once.</p><p>But Vilsack worries that immigration reform will crumble under the weight of partisanship in the House.</p><p>“I think there are some, frankly, who do not want it to pass because there is some political advantage to one party or another.”</p><p>He believes that if immigration reform doesn't pass this year, it will be years before it has another chance.</p><p>“If it doesn't get done this year, it certainly won't get done next year in an election year and it won't get done the following year, in the third year of the president's second term,” he said.</p><p>However, Republican Congressman Rich Nugent, who represents central and eastern Marion County, believes it is unreasonable to expect the House to vote on an expansive immigration bill without allowing time to deliberate it.</p><p>“I don't think the country benefits from thousand-plus page bills,” he said in a statement Monday. “I understand that it makes it easier to have a big press conference and signing ceremony, but the policy isn't improved by doing it that way.</p><p>“As a representative of the American people, I personally don't think you should have to swallow 900 other pages just to get the individual pieces your constituents think is important. It shouldn't be take it or leave it. So, the House feels like taking it piece by piece and having an up or down vote on each is a better way to deliver the immigration reforms that a majority of Americans want. I think that's a better way to go.”</p><p>Among Nugent's priorities is border security.</p><p>“Unless the border is secure and we can actually have some level of control about who is coming in and who is overstaying visas and so forth, then you can't really reform a broken system – you simply put yourself back in the same situation a few years down the road. That's what happened with immigration reform in 1986.”</p><p>Republican Ted Yoho, who represents much of western Marion County, agreed.</p><p>“My constituents have made it overwhelmingly clear to me that they don't like the Senate bill, they want secure borders now, and no amnesty,” Yoho said Monday. “I agree with them. Last week I heard most of my colleagues say they've heard the same.</p><p>“I do think we need responsible immigration policies that focus on border security because that's a matter of national security. We can also work together for a responsible guest working program for agriculture. In the end, I don't see the Senate bill coming through the House.”</p><p>There is evidence that illegal immigration leveled off during the recession, as job opportunities in agriculture and tourism dwindled here.</p><p>Using data from the Census Bureau and other sources, the Department of Homeland Security published a report last year estimating that 11.5 million unauthorized immigrants lived in the U.S. as on January 2011, down from 11.8 million at the peak. Roughly half of that population was centered in just three states, California, Texas and Florida.</p><p>According to the Homeland Security report, about 59 percent of unauthorized immigrants — 6.8 million — were from Mexico. Mexico's neighbors to the south, El Salvador (660,000) and Guatemala (520,000), poured another 1.18 million people into the U.S., while China (280,000), the Philippines (270,000), India (240,000) and Korea (230,000) also accounted for significant numbers of unauthorized immigrants.</p><p>But while the overall numbers grew over the past decade, apprehensions of unauthorized immigrants plummeted from about 1.06 million in 2002 to 641,000 in 2011.</p>